THE HIGH TECH CENTER
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
Writing an Annotated Bibliography
Why write an Annotated Bibliography?
Annotated bibliographies are usually used in larger research projects and often help students to
gather important and detailed information about a variety of texts such as books, journal articles
and even Internet materials. When writing an annotated bibliography, students usually read the
texts first, and then write summaries or analyses (depending on the assignment and the purpose
for writing the annotated bibliography). Annotated bibliographies are usually written for the
following reasons:
•
•
•
•
To summarize a lot of texts for a research project
To help write a doctoral thesis
As part of a larger research assignment for a professor
To be published independently as a resource
What is an Annotated Bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is a list of texts. The annotated bibliography contains two parts.
This first part lists important information about a text, the author, publisher and date (just like in
a standard bibliography). This first portion of the annotated bibliography will usually be in
either APA or MLA format.
The second part of an annotated bibliography contains additional information that separates it
from a standard bibliography. This additional information is the annotation – the process of
adding notes, summary information about the text, and/or an analysis of the text. What you
choose to note and how much you write will depend on the purpose of your assignment and even
the length of the text you are annotating.
Here are several different types of annotations:
• Informative – summarize the main findings or arguments from the source
• Evaluative – evaluate the source, assess its strengths and weaknesses
• Indicative – describe what is included in the source
• Combination – summarize, evaluate, and describe the source
You must decide whether the annotations will be written in paragraphs, complete sentences, or
phrases.
Some examples:
Informative, phrases
28. Ian Jack, Augustan Satire: Intention and Idiom in English Poetry, 1660-1750. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1952.
A study especially of satiric subgenres and their corresponding dictions in Butler,
Dryden, Pope, and Johnson. Jack's concern is to discover the "kinds" of satiric
1
THE HIGH TECH CENTER
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
poetry and their functions; when we learn to read satires according to their proper
kinds, he suggests, we recover a great deal of their contemporary meaning and
rescue them from accusations of sterility. Contemporary engagement is thereby
rescued through formal considerations. [Jack Lynch, Augustan Satire: An
Annotated Bibliography, andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Biblio/satirebib.html]
Evaluative, phrases
Cameron, Kenneth Walter. Young Emerson’s Transcendental Vision: An
Exposition of his World View With an Analysis of the Structure, Backgrounds, and
Meaning of Nature (1836). Hartford: Transcendentalist Books, 1971.
Everything you always wanted to know about Emerson, and so much more.
Cameron’s knowledge is encyclopedic, and his prose is certainly adequate, if at
times uneven. The biggest plus of this tome is the handy reprinting of works by
other authors (in this case Coleridge) relevant to Emerson’s work. [Bryan
Hileman, Annotations and Reviews of Readings in American Transcendentalism,
www.vcu.edu/engweb/transweb/annotbib.htm]
Indicative, phrases
Andriano, Joseph. Our Ladies of Darkness: Feminine Daemonology in Male Gothic Fiction.
University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992.
A study of the beautiful and deadly female fiend (esp. supernatural and psychological
frameworks) in 19th Century Gothic fiction. [The Gothic: Materials for Study,
www.engl.virginia.edu/~enec981/Group/biblio.html]
Combination, paragraph
Chai, Leon. The Romantic Foundations of the American Renaissance. Ithaca: Cornell
University Press, 1987.
This lengthy volume discusses the influence of European Romanticism upon the works
of Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Emerson and a smattering of others. Its primary focus, at
least in the sections devoted to Emerson, is upon the philosophical influence of the
Germans (Goethe, Schiller, Schleiermacher, Schelling, the Schlegels, Novalis, Kant,
Hegel etc.) and to a lesser degree the English (Wordsworth, Coleridge Shelley.) This
works wades into some deep philosophical waters. Those looking for a deeper, broader
understanding of transcendentalist philosophy will find it illuminating. Those looking for
facts are advised to seek elsewhere. [Bryan Hileman, Annotations and Reviews of
Readings in American Transcendentalism, www.vcu.edu/engweb/transweb/annotbib.htm]
Here are some good sample annotated bibliographies:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_annotatedbibEX.html
Additional Web Resources
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/AnnotatedBibliography.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_annotatedbib.html
2
THE HIGH TECH CENTER
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY
Recommended Books
Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
James L. Harner, On Compiling an Annotated Bibliography. 2nd ed. New York: Modern
Langauge Association, 2000
Joseph Garibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 5th ed. New York: Modern
Language Association 1999.
American Psychological Association (APA) Style
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. American Psychological
Association. 5th edition (July 2001)
3